Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


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Isvpmbolfem  tn  Religious  art 

A Lecture  given  before  the  School  of 
Applied  Design  for  IV omen  on 
the  17th  of  February  1898 
by  Caryl  Coleman 
Esqre  Bachelor 
of  Arts 


New  York:  Printed  for  the  School  of 
Applied  Design  for  Women  dwell- 
ing at  Number  200  West  Twenty-third 
Street  and  there  to  be  sold  for  the  benefit 
of  the  School 


M dccc  xcix 


COPYRIGHT  BY  CARYL  COLEMAN 
MDCCCXCIX 


/ oO 


AD  LECTOREM 

THE  following  lecture  has  been  pub- 
lished at  the  request  of  the  patrons 
of  the  New  York  School  of  Applied 
Design  for  Women. 

The  proceeds  accruing  from  its  sale  will  be 
used  in  promoting  the  object  of  the  School. 
The  edition  is  restricted  to  three  hundred 
copies,  of  which  this  is  Number  f 


. . . “ And  what  surmounts  the  reach 

Of  human  sense  I shall  delineate  so > 

By  likening  spiritual  to  corporal  forms , 

As  may  express  them  best : though  what  if  earth 
Be  but  shadow  of  heaven , and  things  therein 
JLach  to  other  likey  more  than  on  earth  is  thought  ?” 


T 


HE  SUBJECT  OF 


my  lecture,  Symbolism  in  Re- 
ligious Art,  is  a theme  so  vast 
that  I cannot  hope  to  give  you 


this  evening  more  than  a mere  summary  of 
the  general  laws  governing  a single  branch 
of  symbology,  viz.,  Christian  Art,  together 
with  a brief  statement  concerning  a few  of 
its  more  common,  but  all  important  sym- 


I hope  to  demonstrate  the  importance 
of  the  subject  to  students  of  religious  art, 
but  more  especially  to  those  who  have,  or 
may  have,  like  yourselves,  to  do  with  the 
decoration  of  churches.  I also  hope  to 
make  plain  to  all  lovers  of  art,  in  its  expo- 
sition of  living  truths,  that  the  language  of 
symbolism  is  not  of  an  arbitrary  or  uncer- 
tain significance,  but  is  to  be  interpreted  in 


bols. 


7 


Symbolism  in  R eligious  Art 


accordance  with  well  defined  definitions  and 
fixed  principles. 

It  is  an  axiom  that  symbolism  is  a con- 
comitant part  of  all  religious  art.  This  is 
plain  to  be  seen,  because  history  tells  us, 
both  by  documents  and  monuments,  that 
man,  whenever  treating  of  divine  matter 
pictorially,  has  been  wont  to  veil  the  prin- 
ciples of  things  and  deliver  the  truth  enig- 
matically by  signs  and  allegories — in  other 
words,  symbols. 

However,  we  do  not  find  symbols  as 
long  as  there  is  neither  the  desire  to  depict 
what  is  abstract  by  what  is  concrete — nor 
the  consciousness  that  there  is  no  identity 
between  the  symbol  and  the  reality  thus 
represented. 

Symbology  in  Christian  Art,  in  con- 
tradistinction from  that  in  heathen  art,  both 
ancient  and  modern,  is  a reasonable  and 
not  a superstitious  usage.  The  reason 
for  this  is  easy  to  understand  when  it 
is  remembered  that  the  church,  the  guar- 
dian and  dispenser  of  the  deposit  of  faith, 
has  never  cared  for  art  for  art’s  sake,  but 
only  in  as  far  as  it  could  be  employed  as  a 

8 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


handmaiden,  in  its  mission  to  mankind,  or 
as  a material  manifestation  of  a believer’s 
love  for  God ; hence  the  church,  bound  by 
the  nature  of  its  office,  has  always  con- 
strained the  artist  to  conform  his  art  to  some 
circumscribed  moral,  doctrinal  or  devotional 
end — to  use  it  so  as  to  lead  men  from  sen- 
suous to  supersensuous  things,  from  material 
images  to  spiritual  thoughts.  In  other 
words  making  visible  things  types  of  things 
invisible. 

To  the  primitive  Christians,  to  the 
medieval  church  builders,  and  the  Christ- 
ian artists  of  the  Renaissance,  symbolic 
forms  and  colors  were  as  well  known  as 
the  commercial  symbols  for  dollars  and 
cents  are  to  us.  In  fact  the  representation 
of  ideas  by  images  and  symbols  was  so  com- 
mon, their  use  in  all  forms  of  art  so  uni- 
versal, that  they  became  a sign  or  picture 
language  familiar  to  all.  By  their  means 
the  uncultured,  the  most  ignorant,  could 
read  in  the  sculptures  and  paintings,  the 
colored  windows  and  mosaics,  with  which 
the  churches  were  so  profusely  adorned,  the 
wisdom  of  God,  the  history  of  mankind, 

9 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


and  the  beauty  of  holiness.  In  the  six- 
teenth century,  in  the  countries  where  the 
so-called  new  learning  dominated,  symbols, 
together  with  most  of  the  outward  adjuncts 
of  religion,  were  done  away  with,  because 
some  of  them,  it  was  said,  had  been  per- 
verted to  superstitious  uses.  Let  us,  lovers 
of  the  beautiful,  hope,  for  the  sake  of  art, 
that  the  day  of  religious  narrowness  and 
iconoclastic  fanaticism,  that  would  divorce 
art  from  divine  truth,  has  passed  away 
forever. 


IO 


T 


HE  FIRST  STEP 


we  must  take  in  order  to 
understand  our  subject  aright 
is  to  define  our  terms. 


Symbology  is  the  art  of  determining 
the  signification  and  right  use  of  symbols 
and  emblems. 

A symbol  is  a sign  or  mark  by  which 
some  other  thing  than  that  portrayed  is 
suggested  to  the  mind  ; it  is  a representation 
of  something  by  something  else;  and  it 
may  signify  a person,  a fact,  a virtue,  a 
mystery,  a spiritual  idea,  or  it  may  be  mani- 
fold in  its  meaning  and  stand  for  all  of  these 
types.  The  cross,  for  example,  is  primarily 
and  essentially  the  symbol  of  faith,  but  it  is 
also  the  symbolic  sign  of  Christ : a per- 
son ; the  Sacrifice  of  Calvary : a fact ; hope  : 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


a virtue  ; the  Passion  : a mystery ; and  the 
Standard  of  Salvation  : a spiritual  idea. 

An  emblem, — that  is,  in  Christian  Sym- 
bology,— is  a device  or  object  belonging  to 
some  particular  person,  and  is  employed  to 
distinguish  that  person  from  all  other  per- 
sons. For  example:  the  keys  belong  to  S. 
Peter;  they  are  his  emblem,  because  of  the 
words  of  the  Master  : 1 will  give  unto  thee 
the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven . (S.  Matt, 

xvi,  19.)  A cross  in  the  form  of  the  letter 
X is  the  emblem  of  S.  Andrew,  because  it 
was  the  instrument  of  his  passion.  A box 
of  ointment  that  of  the  poor  sinner,  Mary 
Magdalen,  because  when  Jesus  was  in  the 
house  of  Simon  the  leper,  she  came  to  Him, 
having  an  alabaster  box  of  very  precious  oint- 
ment, and  poured  it  on  his  head , as  he  sat  at 
meat;  moreover  Christ  Himself  gives  us  a 
reason  why  it  should  be  her  emblem : 
Verily  I say  unto  you , wheresoever  this  gospel 
shall  be  preached  in  the  whole  world \ there  shall 
also  this , that  this  woman  hath  done , be  told  for 
a memorial  of  her . 

One  of  the  emblems  of  the  B.  V.  Mary 
is  a sevenfold  sword.  Why  ? Because  at 

I 2 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


the  presentation  Simeon  said  to  Mary : Be- 
hold, this  child  is  set  for  the  fall  and  rising 
again  of  many  in  Israel,  and  for  a sign  which 
shall  be  spoken  against . Tea,  a sword  shall 

pierce  through  thy  own  soul  also,  that  the 
thoughts  of  many  hearts  may  be  revealed.  But 
why  sevenfold  ? Because  Mary  had 
seven  great  sorrows  in  her  life,  the  seven 
dolors : the  Prophecy  of  Simeon  ; the 
Flight  into  Egypt;  the  three  Days’ 
loss;  the  Meeting  With  Jesus  on  the 
Way  of  the  Cross;  the  Crucifixion; 
the  Taking  Down  from  the  Cross;  and 
the  Burial  of  Her  Divine  Son. 

It  Often  Happens  that  an  emblem 
is  a symbol,  and  a symbol  an  emblem : the 
emblem  of  S.  Paul  is  a sword,  because  he 
was  decapitated  with  a sword,  and  because 
he  said : A sword  shall  not  separate  us  from 
the  love  of  Christ ; but  a sword  is  also  one  of 
the  symbols  of  faith,  Christ  said  : I came 
not  to  send  peace,  but  a sword,  and  this  sword 
was  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  Word 
of  God. 

In  passing,  I would  call  your  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  emblem  of  S.  Paul 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


is  a two-edged  sword,  because  it  is  a tradi- 
tion of  Christian  art  that  such  a one  was 
used  at  his  martyrdom ; there  is  also  a mys- 
tical reason  why  it  should  be  two-edged : 
S.  Paul  was  a preacher  of  the  Word  of  God, 
and  you  will  remember  that  he  compares 
the  Word  of  God,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews, to  a two-edged  sword  : For  the  word 
of  God  is  quick  and  powerful,  and  sharper  than 
any  two-edged  sword% 


14 


c 


HRISTIAN  SYM- 


origin ; its  sources  will  be 
found  : 


B O L I S M is  twofold  in  its 


First.  In  the  religion  itself  of  which  sym- 
bolism is  an  inherent  part. 

Second.  In  the  necessity,  under  which  the 
primitive  Christians  were  placed,  to 
conceal  under  symbolical  forms 
many  of  their  doctrines  from  the 
eyes  of  their  pagan  contemporaries. 

From  these  sources  there  was  gradu- 
ally evolved  the  most  perfect,  far-reach- 
ing, and  most  beautiful  system  of  sym- 
bolism the  world  had  yet  seen. 

The  Bible  is  the  great  storehouse 
from  whence  the  symbologist  draws  his 
symbols,  and  the  history  of  the  faith  sup- 
plies him  with  his  emblems.  I do  not 


*5 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


know  how  I can  better  impress  upon  your 
minds  and  make  you  understand  that  sym- 
bolism is  an  inherent  part  of  Christianity 
and  hence  of  Christian  art,  than  by  quot- 
ing a few  words  of  the  late  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  : “ What  wonderful  provision,”  he 
says,  “ God  has  made  for  us,  spreading 
out  the  Bible  into  types  of  Nature  ! What 
if  every  part  of  your  house  should  begin  to 
repeat  the  truths  which  have  been  com- 
mitted to  its  symbolism  ? The  lowest  stone 
would  say,  in  silence  of  night,  ‘ Other 
foundation  can  no  man  lay.’  The  corner- 
stone would  catch  the  word,  ‘ Christ  is  the 
cornerstone/  The  door  would  add,  ‘ I 
am  the  door/  The  taper  burning  by  your 
bedside  would  stream  up  a moment  to  tell 
you,  ‘ Christ  is  the  light  of  the  world/  If 
you  gaze  upon  your  children,  they  reflect 
from  their  sweetly  sleeping  faces  the  words 
of  Christ,  ‘ Except  ye  become  like  little 
children/  If,  waking,  you  look  toward 
your  parent’s  couch,  from  that  sacred  place 
God  calls  Himself  your  father  and  your 
mother.  Disturbed  by  the  crying  of  your 
children,  who  are  affrighted  in  a dream,you 

1 6 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


rise  to  soothe  them,  and  hear  God  saying, 
*80  will  I wipe  away  all  tears  from  your 
eyes  in  heaven/  Returning  to  your  bed, 
you  look  from  the  window.  Every  star 
hails  you,  but  chiefest  ‘ the  bright  and 
morning  star/  By  and  by,  flaming  from 
the  east,  the  flood  of  morning  bathes  your 
dwelling,  and  calls  you  forth  to  the  cares  of 
the  day,  and  then  you  remember  that  God 
is  the  Sun,  and  that  heaven  is  bright  with 
His  presence.  Drawn  by  hunger,  you  ap- 
proach the  table.  The  loaf  whispers,  as 
you  break  it,  ‘ Broken  for  you,’  and  the 
wheat  of  the  loaf  sighs,  ‘ Bruised  and 
ground  for  you/  The  water  that  quenches 
your  thirst  says,  ‘ I am  the  water  of  life/ 
If  you  wash  your  hands,  you  cannot  but 
remember  the  teachings  of  spiritual  purity. 
If  you  wash  your  feet,  that  hath  been  done 
sacredly  by  Christ,  as  a memorial.  The 
very  roof  of  your  dwelling  hath  its  utter- 
ance, and  bids  you  look  for  the  day  when 
God’s  house  shall  receive  its  top  stone/' 

Christianity,  through  its  wonderful 
power  of  appropriation  and  assimilation, 
drew  its  symbols  not  only  from  Holy  Writ, 

17 


/ 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


but  also  from  mythology.  In  fact  it  used 
everything  that  would  lend  itself  to  promote 
the  object  of  its  existence.  For  some  one 
has  truthfully  said : “ Whatever  heathenism 
had  of  truth  or  morality,  Christianity  made 
its  own.” 


i8 


IN  SYMBOLOGY 

there  are  a number  of  fundamental 
laws  or  principles  with  which  the 
ecclesiologist  or  church  decorator 
must  make  himself  familiar,  if  he  wishes  to 
use  his  art  in  an  intelligent  manner 

These  principles  or  laws  very  natural- 
ly group  themselves  under  two  general 
heads,  viz.,  form  and  color.  We  will  first 
study  those  appertaining  to  color. 

When  God  set  the  rainbow  in  the 
heavens.  He  not  only  gave  to  mankind  the 
first  letter  in  the  alphabet  of  symbolism,  but 
also  the  scale  of  symbolic  colors.  Man 
recognizing  this  lesson  in  symbolization, 
written  by  the  hand  of  the  Creater,  was  led, 
when  and  wherever  he  gave  expression  to 
his  belief  by  religious  art,  to  use  colors  sym- 
bolically, grouping  them  with  reference  to 
their  symbolic  values,  focusing  them  upon 

19 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


a given  aim  by  harmonizing  their  natural 
signification,  mystical  meaning  and  artistic 
effect,  in  view  of  their  final  effect  on  the 
passions,  feelings  and  intellect  of  man. 

In  a general  way,  in  every-day  par- 
lance, men  are  unconsciously  bearing  tes- 
timony to  the  symbolic  and  esoteric  mean- 
ing of  color  by  such  expressions  as  a “ quiet 
color/'  a “vulgar  color,"  a “lady-like  color," 
a “mournful  color"  and  so  on  ad  libitum , 
proving  that  colors  in  themselves,  by  some 
subtile  quality,  affect  the  mind  and  feelings 
of  man,  and  as  a rule  convey,  always 
and  everywhere,  the  same  meaning,  in  this 
way  justifying  their  symbolic  use  in  religious 
art.  In  Christian  art  the  symbolism  of 
color  is  largely  an  inheritance,  either  from 
paganism  or  Judaism.  White,  black,  red, 
yellow,  blue,  green  and  purple  had  a marked 
symbolic  signification  to  all  pagan  nations. 

The  people  of  Mesopotamia,  and 
through  them  the  Medes  and  Persians,  em- 
ployed in  their  architecture  and  decorative 
arts  seven  specific  colors,  each  respectively 
symbolizing  one  of  the  seven  great  heavenly 
bodies,  and  also  one  of  the  seven  days  of  the 


20 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


week.  The  seven  stages  of  the  observatory 
discovered  at  Nineveh  by  M.  Place,  were 
colored : the  first  was  white,  the  second 
black,  the  third  red,  the  fourth  blue,  the 
fifth  orange,  the  sixth  silver,  and  the  seventh, 
the  crowning  stage,  gold.  Herodotus  says 
the  battlements  of  the  seven  walls  surround- 
ing Ecbatema,  the  capital  of  the  Medes, 
were  colored.  The  colors  used  were  those 
above  enumerated  and  in  the  order  desig- 
nated, beginning  with  the  outer  wall. 

Among  the  Romans  it  was  a common 
custom  to  paint  the  statues  of  their  gods 
with  such  colors  as  typified  some  supposed 
attribute  of  the  divinity;  red  was  ascribed 
to  Mars,  white  to  Jupiter,  green  to  Venus, 
blue  to  Saturn  and  Neptune.  They  also 
saw  a symbolic  representation  of  the  earth, 
fire,  air  and  water  as  well  as  of  the  four 
seasons,  in  the  colors  green,  red,  blue  and 
white.  Among  the  Chinese,  as  long  ago 
as  two  thousand  B.  C.,  there  was  a sys- 
tem of  philosophy  founded  on  five  of  these 
colors. 

“Whatever,”  says  Durandus,  “the  Jew- 
ish church  received  by  law,  that  doth  the 

2 I 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


Christian  church  receive,  and  with  large 
increase.”  The  sacerdotal  vestments  of  the 
Jew,  as  you  no  doubt  know,  were  of  divers 
colors,  for  glory  and  for  beauty . These  colors 
were  all  symbolical,  “the  better,”  says  a sym- 
bologist  of  the  middle  ages,  “to  express  the 
beauty  which  comes  from  the  various  virtues 
of  the  soul.”  The  robes  of  the  high-priests 
were  made  of  those  colors  which  were  be- 
lieved to  be  most  precious : gold  and  violet 
and  purple  and  scarlet  twice  dyed , and  fine  linen . 
“Purple,  the  color  of  kings,  designated  the 
pontifical  power,  which  always  proclaims 
itself  with  the  royal  voice  of  authority;  scar- 
let, the  color  of  fire,  which  should  be  twice 
dyed,  represents  the  pontifical  doctrine, 
which  should  like  fire  glitter  and  burn;  the 
linen  (white)  is  symbolical  of  truth  and 
good  fame  ; violet,  which  is  the  color  of 
the  heavens,  expresses  the  purity  of  con- 
science which  should  distinguish  the  priest.” 
Just  as  soon  as  the  Christians  set  aside 
particular  vestments  for  the  exclusive  use  of 
their  clergy,  when  celebrating  the  Holy 
Mysteries , they  gave  a symbolic  value  to 
the  colors  of  the  same.  At  first  white  and 

22 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


purple  were  the  only  ones  employed  ; grad- 
ually other  colors  were  used,  but  without 
authority,  which  finally  led  to  a confusion 
of  usages  contrary  to  unity  of  worship 
and  catholicity  of  teaching.  This  abuse 
was  not  corrected  until  the  end  of  the  1 2th 
century,  when  the  choice  of  colors  ceased 
to  be  optional,  and  the  five  colors,  white, 
red,  green,  violet  and  black  were  so  dis- 
tributed through  the  ecclesiastical  year  that 
each  color  told  its  own  proper  tale,  by  con- 
veying to  the  mind  through  the  eye  that 
the  Christians  were  keeping  a certain  festival. 
In  this  way  the  real  liturgical  value  of 
color  was  fixed,  so  that  the  same  color,  from 
that  day  to  this,  always  and  everywhere,  has 
represented  the  same  truth  and  has  taught 
the  same  lesson  to  the  faithful. 

The  first  fact  the  student  must  im- 
press upon  his  mind,  in  studying  the  sym- 
bolism of  colors,  is  that  the  symbolic  ex- 
pression or  hidden  meaning  of  a color  is 
almost  identical  among  all  nations,  and 
more  particularly  in  the  great  religions 
of  the  world.  It  may  be  formulated  in 
a general  way,  as  follows : light , represented 

23 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


by  white,  is  the  source  of  all  color  and  is 
symbolic  of  absolute  truth — the  divine  wis- 
dom— the  positive  principle  or  God  Him- 
self ; on  the  other  hand,  darkness,  the  nega- 
tion of  light,  is  represented  in  its  turn  by 
black,  the  symbol  of  evil. 

Although  white  stands  for  the  posi- 
tive principle,  yet  in  art  its  manifestation 
is  more  often  portrayed  by  red. 

From  white  and  red  are  drawn  the 
other  primitive  colors  of  symbolism,  viz., 
yellow,  blue,  and  green.  Yellow  is  the  rev- 
elation to  man  of  the  love  and  wisdom  of 
God ; blue  the  breath  of  God,  the  spirit  of 
truth  ; green  the  love  and  wisdom  of  God 
in  action,  charity  and  regeneration. 

White,  red,  yellow,  blue,  green  and 
black  are  governed  in  their  mixture  and 
symbolic  application  by  two  laws : that  of 
combination  and  opposition;  these  laws  in  prac- 
tice are  controlled  by  four  rules,  as  fol- 
lows : 


I. 

The  predominant  color  gives  the 

GENERAL  SYMBOLIC  MEANING. 


24 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


II. 

The  subordinate  color  the  modified 
signification. 

Example:  Purple  is  formed  from  red, 

divine  love , and  blue,  the  Spirit  of 
Truth  and  Life , as  red  is  the  pre- 
dominant color,  purple  is  therefore 
symbolical  of  a love  of  truth  ; Hya- 
cinth is  made  of  the  same  colors,  but 
as  blue  predominates,  it  is  a symbol 
of  the  truth  of  love  ; again  Violet  is 
produced  by  an  equal  mixture  of 
the  same  colors,  and  signifies  the 
living  truth  or  the  revealed  manifes- 
tation of  divine  love:  Jesus  Christ, 
the  equal  of  the  father. 

III. 

Any  color  in  union  with  black,  or  worn 

BY  AN  EVIL  BEING,  HAS  A SATANIC  SIG- 
NIFICATION. 

IV. 

Black  worn  by  holy  persons  at  once 

BECOMES  SYMBOLICAL  OF  SOME  FORM 
OF  GOOD. 


25 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


Example . Red  (divine  love)  united  to 
black  (evil)  is  a symbol  of  hate; 
yellow  (faith),  worn  by  Judas,  is 
the  symbol  of  ingratitude  and 
jealousy  ; and  black,  worn  by  the 
Redeemer,  is  symbolic  of  truth  wrest- 
ling with  the  powers  of  darkness. 

In  symbolism  white  is  looked  upon  as 
the  source  of  all  colors.  And  in  these 
latter  days  natural  science  has  come  for- 
ward, unsolicited,  to  bear  testimony  to  the 
truth  of  the  proposition.  Sir  Isaac  Newton 
held  that  white  or  solar  light  was  a mixture 
of  different  colors.  And  Tyndall  tells  us 
that  there  is  no  color  generated  by  any 
natural  body  whatever.  “ Natural  bodies 
have  showered  upon  them,”  he  says,  “in 
the  white  light  of  the  sun,  the  sum  total  of 
all  possible  colors,  and  their  action  is  limit- 
ed to  the  sifting  of  that  total,  the  appro- 
priating from  it  of  the  color  which  really 
belongs  to  them,  and  the  rejecting  of  those 
which  do  not.”  Hence  white,  the  source 
of  all  color,  as  we  have  seen,  is  symbolical 
of  the  eternal  uncreated  light,  absolute  truth, 

26 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


divine  wisdom  and  unity  : God  Himself. 

Therefore  in  Christian  art  the  representa- 
tions of  the  Eternal  Father,  and  Christ,  in  his 
transfiguration  and  after  his  resurrection,  are 
clothed  in  white.  From  this  it  is  easy  to 
understand  that  white  is  the  color-sym- 
bol of  a regenerated  soul,  of  religious 
purity  and  innocence,  of  truth  and  integrity, 
of  chastity  and  virginity,  of  eternal  life  and  joy, 
and  hence  is  used  by  artists  to  cloth  the 
dead,  neophytes,  virgins,  and  angels,  the  un- 
justly accused,  an  upright  judge  and  justice. 
Mary,  the  Mother  of  the  Word  made  Flesh, 
when  portrayed  as  the  Queen  of  Heaven,  is 
clothed  in  white,  and  also  those  happy  souls, 
round  about  the  Great  White  Throne,  who 
have  put  on  the  incorruptible,  or  as  S.  John 
describes  them— A great  multitude , which  no 
man  could  number,  of  all  nations , and  tribes , 
and  people , and  tongues:  standing  before  the 
throne , and  in  sight  of  the  Lamb , clothed  with 
white  robes , and  palms  in  their  hands . 

It  would  take  us  too  far  afield  if  we 
should  consider  either  the  liturgical  use  of 
white,  or  its  symbolic  signification  in  other 
religions  than  the  Christian.  It  suffices  to 

27 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


say  that  it  is  the  color  par  excellence  of 
sacerdotal  vestments  of  all  time  and  people. 
The  reason  for  this  can  be  found  in  what 
I have  already  told  you,  or  in  these 
words  of  Clement  of  Alexandria,  who  says 
that  “ Plato  followed  Moses,  in  praising 
white  garments  as  most  proper  for  priests, 
who  are  children  of  light. ” (Prob.  m, 
c.  II.) 

It  would  also  be  well  to  remember 
that  silver  and  the  diamond  are  the  symbolic 
equivalents  of  white. 

Light  is  made  manifest  through  fire, 
and  the  color  of  fire  is  red ; hence  in  sym- 
bolism the  manifestation  of  light  or  divine 
wisdom  is  symbolized  by  red.  Conse- 
quently it  is  the  symbolic  color  of  the  Holy 
Ghost : the  Spirit  of  Love,  Sanctification  and 
Knowledge ; and  also  of  the  love  of  God 
for  man,  and  man’s  love  of  God,  even  to 
the  loss  of  life  : Martyrdom. 

You  will  remember  that  on  the  first 
Christian  Pentecost,  when  the  apostles  re- 
ceived the  Holy  Ghost,  there  appeared  to 
them  cloven  tongues  like  as  of  fire , and 
sat  upon  each  of  them , and  they  were  all 

28 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost . You  will  also 
remember  that  the  soldiers  of  Pilate  took 
Jesus  into  the  common  hall — stripped  Him, 
and  put  on  Him  a scarlet  robe — or  as 
S.  John  says : He  was  clothed  in  a ves- 
ture dipped  in  blood . (Rev.  xix : 13.) 

Again  those  who  loved  the  Master  even 
to  the  shedding  of  their  blood  were  de- 
scribed by  a prophet  of  old  as  being  clothed 
in  red  : Tour  garments  are  red  like  the  gar- 
ments of  those  who  tread  the  grape  in  the  wine 
press.  It  is  plain  from  all  this  that  red  is 
the  color  symbol  of  the  Holy  Spirit : Di- 
vine love,  the  creative  power  of  love,  love 
unto  death  or  martyrdom,  and  hence  that 
in  Christian  art  it  is  worn  by  the -Master 
during  His  passion,  the  martyrs,  and  by 
Mary  Magdalene  to  express  her  love  for  her 
Divine  Spouse,  who  is  white  and  ruddy ; 
(Cant.  v.  10.)  White  in  His  purity  and 
ruddy  in  His  blood,  the  rose  of  the  field 
and  the  lily  of  the  valley.  The  Sinister 
Symbolism  of  Red  is  the  opposite  of  love, 
viz.,  hatred  and  egotism.  It  also  stands  for 
the  fire  of  Hell.  The  devil,  the  very  em- 
bodiment of  hatred  and  egotism,  is  therefore 

29 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


often  dressed  in  red.  In  the  middle  ages  the 
executioners  were  habited  in  this  color  as 
symbolical  of  sin. 

Yellow  in  symbolism,  as  in  the  art 
of  Heraldry,  is  formed  from  a union  of 
white  and  red  into  one  signification  : it  is 
the  manifestation  of  divine  wisdom  and 
love  to  man — the  human  understanding  en- 
lightened by  revelation — in  one  word : 
Faith.  Hence,  S.  Peter,  the  divinely  ap- 
pointed confirmer  of  his  apostolic  brethren, 
wears  a golden  yellow  mantle;  while  S. 
Thomas  Aquinas,  the  expounder  of  the 
dogmas  of  faith,  bears  a golden  sun  upon 
his  breast. 

The  sun,  gold  and  topaz  are  synonym- 
ous with  yellow,  and  can  be  used  sym- 
bolically in  place  of  that  color. 

Yellow  of  a dull  or  dirty  tone — faith 
polluted  by  sin— signifies  inconstancy,  jeal- 
ousy and  deceit.  The  mantle  of  Judas  is 
always  of  a dirty  yellow : faith  defiled  by 
ingratitude  and  treachery. 

Blue,  like  yellow,  emanates  from  red 
and  white,  and  is  the  manifestation  of  the 
creative  power  of  divine  love  and  wisdom  ; 

3° 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


therefore  it  is  the  color  symbol  of  the  breath 
of  God : the  spirit  of  truth,  immortality, 
fidelity,  and  the  spiritual  regeneration  of 
man.  Consequently  Christian  artists  in  de- 
picting Jesus  the  Messiah,  during  his  minis- 
try, clothed  Him  in  an  outer  garment  of 
blue.  Mary’s  cloak  was  also  blue  to  show 
her  fidelity  to  grace. 

As  blue  is  a symbol  of  immortal  life 
it  has  been  sometimes  employed  as  a mortu- 
ary color,  but  when  so  used,  it  is  generally 
toned  with  black. 

Just  as  green  in  the  natural  order  is 
the  symbol  of  the  new  birth  of  Nature, 
life  in  action  after  the  long  death  of  winter, 
just  so  it  symbolizes  in  Christian  art  the 
new  birth  of  the  soul:  regeneration  in 

action,  or  love  and  sacrifice.  It  is  the 
symbolic  color  of  hope,  charity,  abund- 
ance, and  victory;  therefore  the  cross  and 
the  martyr’s  palms  are  given  a greenish 
tone.  S.  John  tells  us,  in  the  Apocalypse, 
that  on  the  last  day  the  eternal  God 
will  be  enthroned  beneath  a rainbow  of 
emerald. 

Green  associated  with  evil  signifies 

31 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


degradation  and  folly ; hence  the  devil  is 
often  painted  with  green  eyes. 

All  that  is  false  and  evil  is  most 
reasonably  symbolized  by  black : the  nega- 
tion of  white,  the  color-symbol,  as  we  have 
seen,  of  absolute  truth ; hence  black  is 
appropriately  the  color  of  the  Prince  of 
darkness,  error  and  sin. 

I will  not  detain  you  to  explain  the 
symbolic  signification  of  any  of  the  other 
colors,  such  as  purple,  violet,  rose,  scarlet, 
orange,  gray,  etc.,  as  you  can  easily  determine 
for  yourselves  their  meaning  by  applying 
the  two  laws  I have  already  given  you: 
Combination  and  Opposition. 


3 2 


T 


HE  FIRST  FORMS 

employed  by  the  Christians  as 
symbols  related  exclusively  to 
the  person  of  the  Redeemer, 


to  regenerated  souls,  and  to  martyrdom. 

As  I have  already  intimated,  the  early 
Christians  in  the  economy  of  their  worship, 
and  daily  intercourse,  were  compelled  to 
adopt  degrees  of  initiation  in  their  sacred 
mysteries,  and  symbols  in  the  external  ex- 
pression of  their  dogmas,  in  order  to  guard 
them  from  profanation  by  their  pagan  con- 
temporaries. In  their  choice  of  symbols  they 
generally  selected  some  common  and  well- 
known  object,  for  example:  in  place  of  the 
cross  of  Christ,  an  instrument  of  punishment 
most  abhorrent  to  the  pagan  mind,  they 
chose  the  anchor,  which  to  the  uninitiated 
had  little  to  say  beyond  the  fact  that  it  was 
the  every-day  symbol  of  hope,  but  to  the 


33 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


possessors  of  the  Faith  it  was  an  exponent 
of  the  whole  doctrine  of  the  vicarious  atone- 
ment. In  the  same  way,  in  order  to  satisfy 
the  needs  of  secrecy,  they  concealed  the 
official  name  of  the  Redeemer  by  the  means 
of  a monogramic  symbol : the  chrisma, 

formed  with  the  two  first  letters  of  the  word 
Christ,  under  its  Greek  form  X P I C T O C, 
the  chi  and  the  rho , two  letters  which  re- 
semble the  English  X and  P. 

The  name  Jesus  (IHCOYC)  was 
treated  in  a similar  manner : abbreviated  and 
monogramatised.  The  first  three  letters, 
the  iota,  eta  and  sigma , were  used  to  form  a 
monogram,  from  which  the  modern  and 
familiar  sign  I H S originated.  This 
monogram  is  supposed  by  many  people 
to  stand  for  the  English  sentence:  I have 
suffered  or  I have  saved,  and  among 
others  for  the  Latin  sentence  "Jesus  Hominum 
Salvator  (Jesus  Saviour  of  men).  This  view 
comes  from  not  knowing  the  history  of  the 
symbol,  and  from  confusing  it  with  the 
letters  I.  H.  S.,  taken  from  the  arms  of 
the  Society  of  Jesus,  which  undoubtedly 
stand  for  the  words  Jesus  Hominum  Salvator . 

34 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


Although  the  early  Christians  were 
very  careful  about  making  a literal  repre- 
sentation of  the  cross,  yet  they  constantly 
used  the  sign,  as  we  learn  from  Tertullian, 
a writer  of  the  second  century,  who  says : 
“ In  all  our  travels  and  movements,  in  all 
our  coming  in  and  going  out,  in  putting  on 
our  clothes  and  shoes,  at  the  bath,  at  the 
table,  in  lighting  our  lamps,  in  lying  down, 
whatever  employment  occupies  us,  we 
mark  our  foreheads  with  the  sign  of  the 
cross.” 

The  Edict  of  Toleration  of  the  year 
A.D.  313;  the  abolition,  throughout  the 
Roman  world,  of  the  punishment  of  cruci- 
fixion ; the  vision  of  Constantine  ; and  the 
discovery  of  the  true  cross  by  S.  Helena  in 
the  year  A.  D.  326,  ushered  in  a new  state 
of  affairs.  The  “ abhorred  cross,”  the  “ ac- 
cursed thing,”  was  no  longer  hidden  under 
hieroglyphic  forms,  but  was  everywhere  to 
be  seen  and  everywhere  esteemed  and  held 
in  honor.  As  an  early  Christian  said  : “It 
ceased  as  a punishment,  it  remained  as  a 
glory.  From  places  of  punishment  it  was 
passed  to  the  foreheads  of  Emperors.”  But 

35 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


even  then,  the  old  pagan  dislike  for  the  cross 
had  so  permeated  society  that  the  artist  of 
the  time,  yielding  to  prejudice,  partially 
concealed  its  form  by  enriching  it  with 
flowers  and  jewels.  For  the  same  reason 
the  initial  steps  in  development  of  the  sim- 
ple cross  into  a crucifix,  a cross  bearing 
the  body  of  Christ,  was  made  slowly  and 
with  hesitation.  The  first  step  was  to 
place  on  the  cross  an  image  of  a lamb  : 
the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of 
the  world ; then  a bust  of  Christ ; then  the 
entire  body,  but  clothed  and  crowned ; and 
finally  the  naked  body.  In  this  way  the 
cross — the  skeleton — was  at  last  clothed 
with  flesh  and  blood  ; the  consecrated  vic- 
tim was  placed  upon  the  symbolical  sacri- 
ficial altar  of  Calvary ; the  tree  of  life  put 
on  its  foliage  and  gave  forth  its  fruit,  for  in 
the  eyes  of  the  Christian  Christ  Himself  is 
here  blossom  and  fruit , fragrance  and  perfume , 
leaf  and  crown . 

The  cross — the  most  important  symbol 
in  the  entire  range  of  Christian  symbology — 
in  the  hands  of  artist  and  architect  became 
manifold  in  its  symbolic  meaning  It  was 

36 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


to  them  a ship  “ in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  tossed 
with  waves,”  carrying  human  weakness 
through  the  tempest  of  life  : 

“ To  which  men  may  cling  in  the  wreck 
of  the  world” 

It  was  to  them  a tree : 

“ Thou  art  the  tree  of  life  that  yields  the 
living  fruit  to  all  mankind.” 

A banner — 

“ The  great  King's  banner  shines  above , 
The  glorious  mystery  of  His  love. 

The  cross,  where  Life  Himself  would  die. 
Our  life  thus  dying  to  supply  .” 

An  altar — 

6 6 How  blest,  how  bright  this  altar. 
Wherefrom  salvation  beams ; 

Pour  down  the  Lamb  upon  it 
His  blood  in  ruddy  streams ” 

A ladder— 

“ Lo,  here  the  sinner's  ladder 
Where  Christ,  from  Heavenly  throne. 
Hath  to  Himself  drawn  all  things. 
And  made  each  step  his  own.” 


37 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


An  ark — 

“0  ark  divine , which  floating  there , 
Where  lay  a wreck  and  sinking  world.” 

A balance — 

“ Blest  balance , on  whose  arm  is  weighed \ 
The  price  of  our  redemption  paid.” 

A standard— 

“Its  standard  is  our  signal 
For  victory  and  for  joy.” 

In  truth  to  their  minds  the  depths 
of  its  symbolism  was  unfathomable,  and 
the  treasury  of  its  symbolization  inexhaustible. 
They  sometimes  gave  it  the  color  of  hope, 
green  ; of  martyrdom,  red  ; of  immortality, 
blue  ; and  of  absolute  truth,  white.  They 
held  that  the  upright  beam  was  made  of 
cedar,  the  symbol  of  joy ; the  transverse 
of  cypress,  the  symbol  of  the  deathlessness  of 
the  New  Law;  the  piece  upon  which  the 
feet  rested  of  palm,  the  symbol  of  victory  ; 
the  inscription  tablet  of  olive,  the  symbol  of 
peace — the  fruit  of  Good  Works.  Again, 
that  the  four  arms  stood  for  the  love,  the 

38 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


hope,  the  fear,  and  the  long-suffering  of  God, 
and  also  for  the  four  parts  of  the  world 
from  whence  souls  were  to  be  drawn  to 
Christ : And  I,  if  I be  lifted  up  from  the  earth , 
will  draw  all  men  unto  me  (S.  John,  xii.  22). 
And,  again,  that  the  foot  signified  faith, 
the  sure  foundation  of  hope. 

In  ecclesiastical  architecture  the 
cross  is  the  ground-plan  upon  which  almost 
all  churches  are  built,  the  underlying  mo- 
tive of  their  construction.  This  is  most 
distinct  and  perceptible  in  a fully  devel- 
oped Gothic  church:  the  nave  typifying  the 
shaft  of  the  cross,  the  transept  the  arms,  the 
choir  the  summit ; and  in  some  of  the 
English  cathedrals  there  is  a second  tran- 
sept to  represent  the  label  or  writing  affixed 
to  the  cross  by  Pontius  Pilate.  The  cross 
motive  not  only  pervades  the  ground-plan, 
but  every  line  of  construction  and  orna- 
mentation. The  ceiling  is  a network  of 
cross-vaults  ; a transverse  section  of  the  pil- 
lars shows  a star-cross  ; the  rose-windows 
are  on  the  plan  of  a Greek  cross  ; in  fact 
the  cross  is  imprinted  upon  every  detail. 

In  Christian  Symbology  there  is  a 

39 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


number  of  fixed  forms  and  devices  which 
have  a symbolical  signification  apart  from 
their  particular  iconographic  application : 
such  as  the  halo,  the  aureole,  the  crown, 
the  sword,  the  palm,  the  rose,  the  lily, 
the  olive  and  the  vine,  together  with  a 
number  of  beasts,  birds  and  fish,  and  so 
on.  We  have  only  time  to  consider  two  of 
them  : the  halo  and  the  aureole. 

The  halo  and  the  aureole  are  essen- 
tially one,  in  as  far  as  they  express  the  same 
symbolic  thought,  viz.,  light — the  light 
that  emanates  from  a divinity,  or  a deified 
person,  or  one  imbued  with  divine  influence, 
answering  and  corresponding  heroically  to 
grace,  possessing  divine  or  God-like  qualities. 
The  halo  is  the  light  that  surrounds  the 
head,  while  the  aureole  is  that  which 
encompasses  the  entire  body.  These  sym- 
bolic expressions  are  used  singly,  or  in  com- 
bination, with  representations  of  God,  and 
also  of  men,  either  living  or  dead,  but  when 
combined  they  are  called  a glory. 

The  halo  and  aureole  of  Christian 
art  are  survivals  from  the  remote  past,  by 
the  road  of  conflicting  religious  systems,  be- 

40 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


ing  marks  of  honor  or  sanctity  of  varying 
potentiality,  and  inherently  they  suggest 
glory  or  glorified  light,  from  their  having 
been  in  their  origin  the  highest  symbolic 
expression  of  solar  worship.  Among  every 
people,  at  all  times,  the  halo  has  always 
held  an  important  place  in  religious  sym- 
bolism. It  was  employed  by  the  Egyp- 
tians and  Assyrians,  by  the  Greeks  and  the 
Romans,  by  the  people  of  India  and  China, 
by  the  Mexicans  and  the  North  American 
Indians,  by  the  Primitive,  the  Byzantine, 
and  the  Mediaeval  Christians ; and  it  is  in 
use  to-day  in  many  parts  of  the  world,  the 
property  alike  of  Pagan  and  Christian. 

As  I have  already  explained  the  rea- 
sons why  the  Christians  adopted  pagan 
symbols — mingled  the  old  wine  with  the 
new — it  is  therefore  unnecessary  for  me  to 
justify  the  use  of  the  halo  in  their  incon- 
ography  and  symbology.  In  Christian  art 
the  halos  belonging  to  the  persons  of  the 
God-head  are  emanations,  while  those  of 
the  saints  are  reflections  of  these  emana- 
tions, or  in  the  words  of  S.  John  : the 
Lord  God  giveth  them  light  (Rev.  xxn),  or 

41 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


better  yet:  when  Moses  had  been  in  the 
presence  of  the  Lord,  on  Mount  Sinai  for 
forty  days  his  face  shone  with  a great  light . 

In  form  a halo  may  be  triangular, 
square,  polygonal  or  circular. 

The  triangular  halo  is  confined  in 
its  application  to  the  God-head,  because  it  is 
composed  of  three  equal  parts,  which  stand 
for  the  three  Persons  of  the  Trinitarian 
Divinity. 

The  square  is  given  to  the  representa- 
tion of  living  persons  who  are  believed  to  be 
saintly,  and  is  so  employed  because  a square 
symbolizes  terrestrial  life,  or  the  earth — a 
four-sided  world: 

“ A tower  of  strength  that  stood 

Four  square  to  all  the  winds  that  blow — ” 

a symbolization  common  to  all  people 
from  Egypt  to  Yucatan,  and  most  familiar 
to  Christians  from  the  following  words  of 
the  Apocalypse  : “ I saw  four  angels  standing 
on  the  four  corners  of  the  earth , holding  the 
four  winds  of  the  earth!' 

The  polygonal  halo  is  purely  orna- 
mental, having  no  esoteric  meaning,  seldom 

42 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


used  out  of  Italy,  and  applied  only  to  per- 
sonifications. 

The  circular  halo  is  the  most  com- 
mon form,  and  symbolically  stands  for  eter- 
nity— heaven— celestial  life,  and  is  given  to 
Christ  and  His  saints. 

Color,  as  well  as  form,  plays  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  composition  of  a halo, 
but  seldom  at  the  expense  of  the  artistic 
effect ; hence  where  the  symbolic  color  would 
be  inharmonious,  gold  is  substituted.  Sym- 
bolically gold  is  the  color  of  the  halos  of 
the  Persons  of  the  Godhead,  the  Holy 
Mother,  the  apostles,  martyrs,  confessors 
and  virgins  ; silver  of  the  prophets  and  saints 
of  the  Old  Law ; green  of  married  saints 
other  than  martyrs,  and  red  or  yellow, 
slightly  tinted  with  white,  of  penitents. 

The  halo  of  Christ  is  the  same  as 
those  of  the  saints,  except  the  field  is  charged 
with  three  limbs  of  a Greek  Cross.  This 
halo  is  also  used  in  connection  with  the 
symbolic  representations  of  the  Persons  of 
the  Trinity.  For  example,  God  the  Fa- 
ther : a hand  with  the  thumb  and  two  fingers 
extended,  a symbol  of  the  creative  act.  Thy 

43 


Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


hands  have  made  me  and fashioned  me  (Ps.  1 1 9)  ; 
God  the  Son:  the  Agnus  Dei,  a symbol  of 
the  sacrifice.  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God \ which 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world  (John  1,  29); 
and  God  the  Holy  Ghost : a dove,  a symbol 
of  divine  wisdom  and  grace.  The  Spirit  of 
God  descending  like  a dove  (Matt.  111,  16). 

Even  Judas  is  entitled  to  a circular 
halo,  but  it  is  black ; the  color,  you  will  re- 
member, of  evil. 

As  I have  already  said,  the  halo  is  not 
always  confined  to  the  head,  but  sometimes 
surrounds  the  entire  body,  and  is  then  called 
an  aureole . This  variety,  although  known 
to  the  ancients,  did  not  make  its  appearance 
in  Christian  art  till  long  after  the  head- 
halo  had  come  into  use.  In  form  it  is 
circular,  oval,  or  quartrefoil,  and  is  gener- 
ally depicted  as  a blaze  of  scintillations  of 
light,  and  sometimes  as  parallel  bands  of  sym- 
bolic colors.  In  use  it  is  exclusively  re- 
stricted to  the  divine  Persons  of  the  Trinity, 
to  the  Virgin  Mother,  to  the  souls  of  the 
redeemed  ascending  into  heaven,  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  celestial  hierarchy,  and  the 
apotheosis  of  a saint.  The  Virgin  Mother 

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Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 


is  thus  depicted  only  when  she  has  the  Holy 
Child  in  her  arms,  at  her  Assumption,  and 
when  she  is  portrayed  as  the  woman  of  the 
Book  of  Revelation  : “ Clothed  with  the  sun , 
and  the  moon  under  her  feet , upon  her  head  a 
crown  of  twelve  stars  P 

The  aureole  of  an  ascending  soul  is 
composed  of  yellow,  green  and  red  clouds, 
or  rays  of  light:  the  colors  of  faith,  hope 
and  love— the  virtues  with  which  a soul 
must  be  clothed  in  order  to  gain  the  Beatific 
Vision. 

To  surround  the  body  with  an  aureole 
and  to  crown  the  head  with  a halo  must 
have  always  been  a familiar  thought  to 
Christians,  made  so  by  a number  of  pas- 
sages  in  Holy  Writ,  such  as  the  words  of 
S.  John,  I saw  a mighty  angel  come  down 
from  heaven , clothed  with  a cloud:  and  a 
rainbow  was  upon  his  head ’ and  his  face  was 
as  it  were  the  sun . 


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IH  A V E GIVEN 

you  this  evening  merely  the  outlines 
of  Christian  Symbology,  and  that  in 
briefest  of  brief  forms ; but  I have 
detained  you  long  enough.  I can  only  say, 
in  closing,  that  Christianity,  more  than  any 
other  religion,  uses  all  things  in  the  universe 
as  instruments  of  instruction  ; and  hence 
Christian  artists  and  architects  have  ever  been 
inspired  to  employ  symbolically  in  their 
buildings  and  decorations  the  colors  of  the 
rainbow,  the  flowers  of  the  field,  the  beasts 
of  the  earth,  the  birds  of  the  air  and  the 
fishes  of  the  sea  in  order  to  awaken  the 
human  mind  to  a given  truth.  From  this 
it  is  easy  to  see  that  it  is  impossible  to  under- 
stand Christian  art  without  a knowledge  of 
symbolism,  and  above  all  to  practice  intelli- 
gently ecclesiology  without  a knowledge  of 

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Symbolism  in  Religious  Art 

symbology,  as  it  alone  furnishes  a key  to  the 
mystical  meaning  of  the  decorative  forms 
used  in  beautifying  God's  house.  I trust 
my  words  have  aroused  in  your  minds  a 
lasting  interest  in  the  subject. 


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NEW-YORK-V-SA 

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THE  CHELTENHAM  PRESS 
25  WEST  IITH  ST.,  N.  Y. 


